Weekend Inspiration: Female Singer Performs With Oxygen Tank!

Chloe Temtchine's voice is clear, sultry and strong. She has pouty supermodel lips and high, perfectly arched brows. She's thin and tall with tan skin, and silky black hair. Chloe Temtchine wouldn't look out of place on any red carpet, maybe with the exception of the breathing tubes she uses, even while performing.

On April 3 Chloe Temtchine released her song "Be Brave," which she debuted at a Pulmonary Hypertension Association gala in New York City in November. The title of the song reminds us of the splendid courage it takes to live day to day with a disease or a disability. It reminds us that our perceptions of people should not be based on these factors, because that would only serve to disable them further.

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The song is twangy and energetic, and springboards off the bluegrass and banjo-laden sounds that have been ruling the pop charts. Chloe Temtchine is a role model for all women, but especially those with severe illnesses, showing that it's still possible to go after the career you love. She's smart and hilarious too--she and her producer husband, who helps with Chloe's daily activities, call her oxygen tank "Steve Martin"; they even put a tie on it sometimes!

Temtchine was just about to start work on an album five years ago, when she began experiencing lung pain and having trouble breathing. She was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, an incurable disease that causes the blood vessels in the lungs to constrict and the heart to enlarge, which can lead to heart failure. The symptoms are so simple (coughing, difficulty breathing, pain) that the disease is often misdiagnosed, or presumed psychosomatic. Pulmonary hypertension is considered rare with only 30,000 Americans recognized as having the disease, but it's estimated that 100,000 more suffer due to the difficulty of the diagnosis. It's clear from watching Chloe Temtchine, though, that suffering is not an option she's exploring right now. You go Chloe!

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